Not Just a Day

I've learned that birthdays in our family aren't just the date, it the week around it. Jo's birthday isn't until Wednesday, but since my inlaws visited this weekend her birthday started Friday night with their arrival. Saturday, my MIL wanted to go shopping for presents. She wanted to get her an outfit and a toy. I knew Gymboree had had some cute things on clearance, and we started there. Vera zeroed in on the cutest fall outfit, a pair of jeans with horshoes on the leg, matching vest and a shirt with a horse running through a pasture on the bottom. Y'all know Gymboree right? They have all the matching accessories to go with every outfit. So we left the store with socks, hairbows, and barrettes to match. Then we hit Toys R Us. Over lunch, Vera decided that she really liked the outfit and thought she would go back to get one for Je's birthday in October. They didn't have the exact thing in little girl sizes as the toddler sizes, but pretty close. She also found a great necklace and bracelet set in the clearance bin that complemented the outfits. Jo had to wear the outfit today. Including the cowgirl boots that she got for Christmas. She loves those boots!

Family Fun

When I uploaded the pictures of the first day of school, I ordered some prints of our vacation. One sequence stands out to me. It is so typically Jo that I laugh whenever I see the three pictures...










"Everyone's going on that, great, count me in, let's get buckled here."









"I don't think so! Get me off now!"










"That's better. Y'all go on without me."







And they did!

Thanks Ne-Ne and Jeff

We Survived-- No We Thrived!

I promised a post on our first day of Kindergarten.
Here she is waiting for the bus...












When it got here, she got on so fast this is the best picture of her getting on I could get...







Here she is coming off the bus at the end of the day...












And finally telling us about her first day...She came home tired but seemed to enjoy her day. Jo did well also. She colored in her new coloring book, helped with laundry, watched a DVD and when she got restless, we took a trip to Walgreen's to pick up the first day of school pictures I uploaded and ordered online. We stopped for a quick slice of pizza for lunch and ran an errand for Nana. By the time we got back home at 2 o'clock she was ready for a book and nap. She fell promptly asleep and slept till 4:30, when she woke up worried because we were all outside meeting the school bus and she was too groggy to figure out how to open the door. Je went to bed early but was still awake when I got home from Bible Study but fell asleep quickly after that. Jo stayed up a bit since she had such a long nap, but she too slept quickly and they both woke up ready for another day.

Love and Forgiveness

Tomorrow, hopefully, I can blog about Je first day of school and how we fared on the homefront. It was a good day. Tonight I want to ponder what I heard in Bible Study this evening. I am studying, Beloved Disciple with my friend at her church. Tonight, Beth concentrated on the experience John had with Christ in Revelation 1: 9-18. She just cracked the door on Rev. 2:1-5, the letter to Ephesus chiding them for forsaking their first love. She made the point that love cannot exist where unforgiveness lives. We cannot truly love unless we let go of our hurt and anger. I prayed the whole way home from Bible Study. It isn't a long drive but still. I prayed over a situation where I fear I might have a struggle in my future in this area. I prayed that God would have me show love to the people involved, to honor Him through my thoughts and words and actions. I am most concerned about my thoughts and words. You know how easy it is to be unkind when unburdening yourself to a dear friend. And it is so easy to let your thoughts get away from you as you mentally condemn a person or dwell on your own hurt and anger. I pray that I will have a loving spirit in this, and that I will be obedient to God's will in my life. If I am obedient, I leave more room for God to demonstrate His love for me. When I heard this today, I was struck by the relevancy. I am a parent. When my kids are obedient, it so easy to show them my love in ways they interpret as love. Hugs, books, privileges, time with fun activities. When they are naughty, I still demonstrate my love for them in my correction of their behavior, (as I am sure God does for us, in letting us face the consequences of our disobedience) but that love is harder for them to grasp. Me too. The don't see a time out or no TV as demonstrations of Mama's love. I hope that my children can witness me demonstrate love for others even when others have hurt me.

What to do About Jo

I have obessessed about Je starting kindergarten for a while now, and have the butterflies to prove it. She is upstairs sleeping away but I will be up for hours yet. And the thought occurs to me today, not really for the first time but kinda smacked me in the head, that while Je is off at school, Jo will be here. With me. By herself. Without her best playmate. Yikes! Preschool doesn't start for a few weeks for her, and even then, it is only two mornings a week. The afternoons are covered, she will try not to sleep during nap time. The mornings will be long. I am not planning on accomplishing anything tomorrow. I will give over my day to helping Jo adjust to her new daytime schedule. I got her a new coloring book and crayons, (aren't back to school sales great! Crayons for 20 cents and markers for 78 cents!!) Hopefully that will be a treat. We checked out new books at the library today, and a couple new DVDs. We might even try some computer games for preschoolers. I am sure that at some point, we will make a trip to Nana's just for the distraction. I think now I am more anxious about a three year old left behind than I am a five year old off to school all day.

WFMW--Getting back my share of the bed

Before you read: insert tongue in cheek and hopefully be amused by post.

I live with a bed hog. I love my husband but he is a toothpick and I am not. Yet I end up with roughly 1/3 of the bed and he has 2/3 of the bed. And when the kids come in the get in on my third of the bed. A couple weeks ago, I found the feather bed that my mom bought me in college. She thought the twin bed in my dorm room was horrible so she decided I needed a feather bed to sleep better. It worked then. It has been folded away in the ceder closet for years and during a recent cleaning spree I found it and decided to try it out. It is twin size and our bed is a queen so I could only put it on half the bed. My half. I am just loving it. I slept so well the first few nights that I didn't immediately notice the side benefits. It provides a natural barrier to encroaching husband. I love to snuggle when I am awake, but when sleeping I want my own space. I don't like to be constricted, restricted, or breath warm air. I have my half of the bed back and right now when it is so hot and just hard to sleep, I am delighting in the space! It is working for me!

Don't worry we are happily married but a girl needs her half of the bed. It's a sleep thing.

So Liberals Think I am Stupid

I was lying in bed this morning with the girls, who got up way too early, and was thinking about a tongue in cheek post I want to write for WFMW. We turned on the news so I could catch the weather. The Today Show did a story on fast food advertising and kids. It seems that parents are powerless in the face of the almighty Mc D. It was so infuriating this morning to see the psychologist from Harmed medical School taking a position that I was impotent before the huge power of TV advertising. It seems to be another instance of liberals taking on the decision power that should rest with me.

My husband and I are going to have to give an answer for the decisions we are making in raising our children. It is our privilege to have these children and our responsibility to make decisions in their best interest. It is an awesome task, and one I am completely unable to carry out without the wisdom of God. I will make mistakes and I will make great decisions and may the Lord be glorified.

This is the comment that I added to the Today Show website in response to the segment. Donnie Deutsch was in the studio with Meridith Viera and psychologist from Harvard Med School was in the segment via remote broadcast. Take a minute and go watch the segment on the Today show website. Click on the link with the Happy Meal! Kids love McDonald's.

I would have to agree with Donnie this morning. As a parent of children in the age group highlighted by the story I know my kids like McDonald's. If they are given a choice about eating out, they often choose that place because they like chicken nuggets and playlands. We have DVR and fast forward through most commercials. We rarely watch live TV but my children still recognize McDonald's. It is my job as a parent to make responsible choices for their diet, and for my wallet. McDonald's isn't always the best choice for nutrition or budget. Eating at home is usually better. I am so tired of liberals trying to take away my responsibilities as a a parent. I know their are bad parents out there who make poor choices for their families, but again, it is their choice to make. Don't take away my responsibility as a parent and make the decision for me. I will be angry about it. The other consequence is that my children will be poorer for it as they will have learned nothing from it. I must teach my children by living a life before them. If I can't make choices and mistakes, then learn from them I can't teach my children how to do that either.

Eau d' Italian Restaurant

Today my house smells like wonderful tomato sauce. Yesterday morning I picked up a five gallon bucket of tomatoes (courtesy of my mother) and a bunch of onions. I went to the store to get green peppers since the ones in Mom's garden aren't doing well. I also picked up tomato paste to thicken the sauce. I made 7 quarts of tomato sauce for chili or spaghetti yesterday and 16 pints and one quart today. They are all in mason jars sealed with lids and ready to store on the shelf in the basement for meals all winter. YUM! I was pretty proud of myself yesterday at 2 pm when I had finished in half the time it took last time and with less than half the mess. Now the house smells productive and I can be joyful in another opportunity to fill my storehouse. Isn't God good that He provides fresh produce and knowledge to use the bounty of His creation? I learned to can from my mother who has long touted the benefits of His providence and encouraged us to fill our storehouses whenever possible against future crop vagarities. Last year we didn't get any tomatoes to make sauce. Fortunately, the year before I had made enough for two years. We will make as much as we can this year to keep us until the next tomato crop.

WOW!

I have to say how excited I am! I have had comments before from people I know in real life or people who followed the link from a contest I entered. People have commented on my WFMW posts a few times, but today, I received my first comment from someone I don't know, who just read an post I wrote about what is going on in my life. I haven't really worked very hard to build up a big readership. I am torn on this. I started the blog because I had things to say and it seemed a great avenue to express myself. I only told two people I was doing it when I started. A few more people (in real life) know now, but I haven't really pushed them to read it. I didn't do this for blogosphere fame, but maybe a little notice would be nice. That is just ego talking. I need to remember that I do things for His glory not mine. When I get wrapped up in my name, my posts, my blog, my, my, my, I've blown past the important One. If it isn't bringing Him glory, I need to do something else. That is the standard, not how many hits I get or comments people leave. But do you suppose that it is okay to be glad about the comments? There goes that ego again!

I just realized that one of my best friends doesn't know. I think I was too shy to mention it at first, then I think it hasn't crossed my mind. I will send her the link today! Sorry E! You might want to rethink that BFF label, I don't drink coffee and I forgot to tell you about the Blog! Oh Horrors!

It's Upon Us

Today I am taking one more step on a path of no return. At 1 o'clock I will park my new van, unbuckle my five year old from her carseat, and walk through the doors of a familiar building, sure to become much more familiar over the next several years. I will wait in line, hand over forms and write a check to cover the costs of a year of books and fees for KINDERGARTEN. AHHHHHH! My baby is going to school. ALL DAY! EVERY DAY!
I am excited and anxious. I will hold her hand and show her around the very school where her Aunt NeNe attended, and where Je has been for pancake feeds, and voting (it is our polling place), and Kindergarten round up. I want her to go, but I want to keep her home with me like it has been, forever. Next month I will send her little sister off to preschool for part of each week, and I am sure I will cry tears as I drive away from there. Then I will park the van in the garage and go inside my quiet house and do a little dance. I will have the house to myself for over two hours twice a week! By mid September I will be enjoying my new freedom and the many things my children are learning. I will revel in their growing independence, because they will always be my babies, and no matter what, they will always come home. I do(my mother probably wishes I came a little less!)

But for today, I will be a bit sad, a little weepy for the new milestones we are reaching this year. I will be nostalgic for their infant times when I could put them down and they would stay where I put them until I came back. I don't really miss that time, but I do romanticize it sometimes. I am enjoying my kids everyday. I love seeing them grow into the people they will be. Kindergarten is just one step on that road.

Reducing Junk Email

Two years ago, when we got DSL internet, it came with new email addresses. I already had a yahoo address that I had created for a yahoo group for my high school alumni reunion. (I didn't know I could use other addresses) I had been using a juno address since 1998 for my personal email address and since it was free, I was keeping it, expecially since it was such a longstanding address. But my juno address was tricky since I used dashes in it, not all websites or email programs recognize the dash as a legitimate character in an address. I was so glad to have a new email address without baggage. I sent my new address to the people who I trusted to not fill my inbox with junk, and kept the juno address for the junk. I go by juno every few days to clean it out and make sure that no "real messages" are there. Now, whenever I am required to give an address online I give the juno address. Those pesky sites that use the email address to then send tons of junk mail send it there. I routinely clean 75 + junk mail emails out but it is a simple matter to click the box to check all the messages then unclick the ones I want to keep. Then my main email is less cluttered by the junk I don't want, and I can keep in touch with anyone who didn't get the new email, or can only find the old one. So keeping an email address just for online sites which require it, works for me.

Captain Oblivious

My husband enjoys being very literal. He thinks he is funny. (Most of the time, he isn't). Tonight, he told Je to sing, "Shoo, Fly Don't Bother Me" in response to the fly in the bathroom. She told him that wouldn't work, and that she needed the "fly shooter" (swatter). He asked if it was a six shooter, or a 12 gauge. I told him to stop being so goofy and obtuse. Which the girls thought was hyterical. "Yeah, Daddy, stop being a toot!" Hey that works too.

The new document — formulated as five questions and answers — restates key sections of a 2000 text the pope wrote when he was prefect of the congregation, "Dominus Iesus," which riled Protestant and other Christian denominations because it said they were not true churches but merely ecclesial communities and therefore did not have the "means of salvation."
(Nicole Winfield-AP)

What?!!!!I am struggling to remain Christlike in my response to this, but if the pope is to be believed, I needn't bother. I am not truly saved because I don't adhere to the Roman Catholic Church. Seriously! My salvation is from God, the Father, from the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the Son, and evidenced by the presence of the Holy Spirit working in me. The several branches of the church have come into existence for just the reason Pope Benedict is embodying this week. The Roman Catholic church has placed the Pope's authority before that of scripture and I would question any organization which would give a mere man authority over the word of the Lord.

Thankfully, Pope Benedict doesn't get the final say on my salvation. That rests with the Lord alone. And He and I have already come to terms on that. The Pope is unneccessary to my faith.

I doubt this post hits the humble attitude reccommended in a recent One News Now
article. Adam Hamilton urges Christians to have humility in our responses to this news.

"Somewhere in there, I think, is a call to humility on the part of all of us to say [in essence] we don't like what the pope has said here about the rest of us," says Hamilton. "We need to be careful about how we talk about our brothers and sisters in Christ in other denominations, whether it be Pentecostals, or whoever it may be that isn't necessarily part of our particular church," the pastor continues." We need to remember what it felt like to hear this and then to be careful about how we speak about our brothers and sisters in Christ."

I guess I need to work on this.

WFMW

I had a brainstorm reading another WFMW post and thought I should share. I don't really use this idea anymore since both girls are past this stage but I used it when they were not potty trained. Swim diapers are reusable. I read a tip that someone suggested reusing them if they don't get pottied in but even if they are pottied in you can toss them in the washer and let them air dry for another swimming trip. I think in the several years that my girls were diapered, I bought two packages (maybe three) of swim diapers. I was teaching lessons every week when Je was little so she went swimming a lot the summer I was pregnant with Jo. I taught lessons again when Jo was around 2 and not potty trained so she wore swim diapers weekly for several months through the fall and winter, then spring. By last summer, she was reliably potty trained so I threw them away, but they lasted a long time. I think I only bought a new package because I needed a different size. They will last through several washings. If a package has 10 diapers in it, I probably got at least 50 swim trips out of it. If the girls had had a BM in the diaper, I would have thrown it out right away, but neither child ever did that, they were pretty reliably regular in that regard. I shared this tip with many of the swimming parents in my Parent/Infant/Toddler classes and most of them tried it with success. It worked for me!

Summer Blahs

I have several posts reverberating in my brain but nothing is ready to be typed. I have the summer blahs. It is hot and muggy, and has been for several days. I am not sleeping well so I am less than energetic these days. It is hard to sleep when it is too hot to open up the house to let in cool air. I like to turn on the attic fan and suck in the cool night air, then in the morning, close up the house and hord the cool air as long as possible before the air conditioner has to kick in. This morning, the air conditioner started working early since it was already 80 degrees both inside and out. I am so unmotivated to do stuff. I do have a new van, and that is a bright spot. And vacation is in less than 2 weeks! So cool! Colorado mountains in July, so much better than Kansas in July!

this is so cool!

Run don't walk to 5 Minutes for Mom so you can enter to win one of these too! This is the coolest thing! I think it could be great for all the prescription receipts etc. that I have littering up the file for taxes. Especially since they are often strangely shaped and easily crinkled on the bag from the pharmacy. I so think I need one of these. Check out the demo at Neat Receipts. Maybe you will find another use!

Can We Talk?

Are there scarier words? Maybe, but when your three year old says them, it is next to impossible to keep a straight face. Today, while Shan was grilling lunch, Jo sat in her lawn chair on the deck with him. She needed to talk to him about important things.

Jo: Daddy did you know that trees need water?
Daddy: That's right! (Remember Daddy is a science teacher, and amateur forrester)
Jo: But not too much water or they will die.
Okay kiddo, whatever you say.

Jo: Daddy, I am coloring this picture with this color.
Okay
Jo: Daddy, I need to talk to you some more.

and on and on.

Tonight, she fell out of bed and bumped her chin. She came downstairs to tell us about it. She wasn't crying so I would imagine it was a minor ailment. She asked me as I sent her back upstairs,...
Jo: Mama, in the morning can we talk about it?

Me: Sure Jo, now get to bed.

She is definitely my child. OY!

I Don't Get It

Why is Paris Hilton famous? I know there are lots of rich people out there whose names I do not know. Why do I have to see her on the news, or whatever passes for it these days. Also, why do I care that she is in jail? Just FYI, I don't. She is even farther down the totem pole of importance for me than actors whose work I like. Who cares? Not me.

A New Love

I love my Jeep. I have driven it for over 10 years and put 135K of its 165K on the car. I didn't care that the air conditioning system leaked freon and had to be recharged every year. I didn't care that it had a tiny oil leak these last couple of years. I put up with the tape deck making that screechy noise when it played. It was a minor inconvenience when the window control for the rear right side became temperamental and would lock up whenever Jo had tried it, until she did it again and unfroze it. I was even prepared to put in a new radio last month when the current one stopped playing FM stations. Besides, I have that phone that works like an mp3 player so I used it. But the last straw, so to speak, broke the camels back when the oil leak got drastically worse last week. I had started early in the year preparing myself for trading it in on a new car. It was hard to go anywhere with more than just our two kids, it was loud to ride in, and vibrated. Each day I kinda was relieved when it started and got me places. The tires are 4 years old so I knew I wasn't putting new ones on it. It's just that the Jeep was the first major purchase of our married life. We bought a truck right before we got married, but it was a pittance, compared to a two year old Jeep Grand Cherokee. I remember feeling so privileged to drive such a fancy car. My previous car had been an '85 Honda Accord Hatchback with carburetor problems. I remember when we bought it, we thought we would drive it for a long time. I was looking at 10 years I hoped. Once we had Je, and I realized how much room car seats take up, I was thinking that we might need to trade it off before we had child three, but maybe we could squeak by until the fourth if we waited for three long enough to get Je out of a car seat. Now we know that they have changed the law, and Je is in a booster for another two years. We also know that we may never get to a third or fourth child, we probably won't biologically get there unless God over rides a vasectomy. But it was time to let go of my first car love. (Actually, my first car love was my Volvo Diesel, I called him Sherman, but my Dad sold him when the engine block had microscopic cracks in in and got me the Honda, not a car love at all with that one) I have joined the ranks of the Mini-Van Moms
Isn't it pretty? This is just a picture of a Kia Sedona that I found online, but it is the right make, model and color. We got it Tuesday night, so that night, I was just kinda dazy. We'd spent the day checking out cars and working details. We drug the kids along and they did great until about 6:30. Which was just when we were cutting the deal. I was ready to have the whole process over with. We had test driven this one right before lunch, and when we indicated that we weren't ready to commit to it, they pushed us to take it for the afternoon to try it out. Since I really liked it, but wasn't ready to buy it, we agreed to try it. When I casually mentioned that we liked to sleep on big decisions, they offered to let us have it overnight. As we discussed the car over lunch, Shan and I really felt like this was the right car, if the numbers worked out. We ran over to Lawrence to pick up part of our down payment, and stopped to see my sister. On the way back to town, I felt like this was the right decision, and that God was leading me to this one. I also knew that if I left it to morning, I wouldn't sleep. So we stopped back by the dealer for some number crunching. I got on the phone with Mom between salesman visits, and got some good advice. I was tired and ready to get out of there, so I went back to the table, gave him my bottom line, deal-breaker offer, and said if he met my price and put the key less entry in, then I would deal tonight, if not, I am going home. He came back about 10 minutes later, and I have a new mini-van. Last night I slept well so feel good about our decision. That is always my fleece, sleep well, good decision, no sleep, bad decision. So now I am totally excited about my new wheels. Second (or third) car love is pretty good too!

Sadness and Relief

For the last several months we have been taking care of a baby for a friend who was working for a few months before beginning stay and home motherdom. Today is our last day with baby J, his mother has worked out her two weeks notice and will now be a full time mama. I am happy for her, but in some ways we will miss the little guy. I won't miss the early arrival time, the screaming baby times, the inconvenience of the baby carrier etc. I always thought I would have at least four children. Right up until I spent a week in the hospital after Jo was born, a week I barely remember and was life-threatening enough to send my husband to the urologist to prevent future episodes of pre-eclampsia. We are and have considered adoption, and since we have done the baby thing twice, I am quite content to adopt older children. I would want to wait a little before we do that so my girls are a little older so we still are in the research and prayer stage. J is a pretty good baby, but he is a baby, so that means he doesn't communicate very well. I have to guess which of the many discomforts he is experiencing, hunger, diaper, boredom, tiredness, pain, etc. I won't miss that. I will miss the cuddling, and the way he stays put when I put him down. Although since he recently learned to roll over, moving is far away. His mother is quitting to stay home at just the right time. He is awake more so that will be fun for her. I am sad in some ways to loose J, and the small income from watching him, but mostly I will be glad to have my schedule back to normal and less difficult manuever about.

Compliments and Success

I've been in an emotional place recently. Success at VBS despite chaos and crisis has left me feeling good and relief that it is over for another year. I told my co-director that the job is probably ours until we say no. I don't want to brag about prowess or claim credit when the credit is the Lord's. We are good at this. We have complimentary strengths and work well together. This was B's third year planning VBS, the first she did it alone. I was assigned to help with the preschoolers, including Je. The week before VBS that year, I was talking with the woman in charge of decorating, and she said she had arranged to borrow several decorations from another church. I volunteered to go with her to get them since I had a vehicle with a trailer hitch and access to a trailer to haul the several ranch themed decorations. As we decorated the church that weekend with our borrowed items and many that we had provided from our stock of ranch themed ideas, I made the comment that I wasn't even on the decorating committee, why was everyone asking me where to put stuff. B said "You are the decorating committee." The woman who had arranged to get the decorations hadn't been able to make it that day to set up so I was by default in charge. I loved that aspect of it. I was contributing to VBS in an important way, and yet I was behind the scenes, invisible unless you knew. That is kinda how I view my role the last two years as co-director. My name is out there as director, but B is the one who is the visible face of VBS. She makes the announcements and leads the meetings. I give her lists, run the errands, do the research, make the copies, etc. We get together and go over things, make decisions and assign tasks. We share the credit. Saturday, as we finished up the clean up she said she feels like I do the work and she bosses. I don't think I explained it very well when I disagreed. I think I need her to do the bossing and I need to do the work. I told someone that I am the feet of the operation and she is the brain. Not to say that I don't think or have ideas, I do, but I am really good at carrying out the ideas she has. Implementation strength. And I think God put us as a team because we have these complementary strengths. He is glorified when we use our gifts in His service. When 47 children attend VBS in our church which has 15 children birth to high school, that is amazing. May the Lord be praised. When it takes 30+ adults to pull off VBS and they graciously offered their time and talents to this effort, PTL. B and I put in hours and effort, and ideas, but the success is because of Him. He blesses those contributions and we have only obeyed Him when we give service to Him.

Trouble Piles On

I've learned that when one thing doesn't go right, several other things will follow suit. I've made it through most of the Bible School frenzy so far. I was even feeling good that I have slept each night. (Benedryl induced but who cares, it's sleep). Right now it is 2 am and the Benedryl failed. I can't take anymore if I want to wake up at a decent hour in the morning. Tonight we nearly had a catastrophe at VBS. Several crucial people didn't show up. The people scheduled to herd the preschool group through the stations, didn't come. One was home sick, one had a sick child, one's grandfather died suddenly. I grabbed people from wherever I could, my co-director went along, and my mother canceled her plans to guide the little darlins' around. The person in charge of the Launch Lab, a science/discovery activity is married to the one whose grandfather died, so he also bailed on me at the last minute. We pressed Shan into service, and muddled through his other responsiblities as best we could. There was a church softball double header tonight and that called away a couple more of my helpers. I thought my head would explode. The night came off pretty well. I doubt the kids even noticed. We even got several of the things ready for tomorrow night's big closing activites, I was just stressed out.
I was packing up to leave, and was talking to my codirector about Sabbath School stuff, when she said: "Aren't we going to Sonic?" I had completely forgotten tonight was free Rootbeer Float night. I hollered for Shan to hurry up so I could get a comfort food. Pop and ice cream are an unbeatable pick me up! One more night then the cleanup. Maybe I can sleep after its all over.

Netflix Contest

Check on this contest from Five Minutes for Mom. I need new movies don't you?

Works for Me Wednesday I'm Bored Edition

Since my girls haven't started school yet, I have to come up with activities all year round to counteract the "I don't know what to do" blues. I am a compulsive clearance shopper. I hit the back aisle of Dillon's often to see what they are closing out at bargain prices. I can probably direct you to the clearance aisle of most of our major stores. I love Big Lots, Tuesday Morning and other similar discount places. When I find a bargain, I stock up. After New Year's a couple years ago, Dillon's cleared out their party supplies. One of the things was a light up star wand. They were patriotic colors and when you turned on the switch the lights flashed red white and blue. They were marked to ten cents a piece, so I bought $2 or $3 worth. Or at back to school time I will buy boxes of crayons for a quarter, markers for a dollar a package, glue and paper. Stickers are also a big hit and you can find them cheap. I also use the tons of free mailing labels companies and charities send soliciting money.

Whenever my kids get bored or restless, I go into the closet stockpile of toys or colors and pull out a new item. The newness lasts for days of fun.

Another good idea is videos from the library. They are free to check out and then you have a new movie without spending money. Our library lets you have some of them for up to three weeks and doesn't charge late fees.

Check into a family zoo pass. We buy one every year for less than $40 and go whenever we want.

Sometimes I suggest a trip to the grocery store. It breaks up the monotony and we get needed things.

Our shopping mall has a kids play area and the girls love to play in there.

In the summer in Kansas, it gets very hot. August is often too hot to play outside, but inside the kids don't get much exercise. We rescued one of those mini trampolines from our neighbor's trash. It was in good shape so we brought it inside and let the kids jump around on it. I put it away periodically and pull it out whenever they are getting restless. I rotate the toys in the toy box, too. Last week, they were in the storage room and found the big chest with the toys I had put away for awhile. They have been playing with them all week. Yesterday, they "discovered" the toys in the toy box in the family room. Some they hadn't played with in weeks. An old toy forgotten is a new toy again. Works for Me.

I am so Immature

A couple months ago, my MIL asked if I remembered a couple years ago, when the girls spent a few extra days with them without us. She wanted to do that again. Come on, twist my arm. I guess you can have the kids. (Whoopee!) So Tuesday we met the in-laws in Hays and sent the kids home with them, returning to our home quietly, without the "are we there yet?" whine. My husband talked to his mother the next day and their trip home wasn't as quiet. They ran into a thunderstorm, complete with big lightening, loud thunder, and hail. At one point they had to pull over and got stuck. My FIL had tried to manuever the van a bit too much and got mired in the mud at the side of the road. They had to wait an hour and a half for someone to push them out of the ditch. As a mother, I am sympathetic and concerned for the girls. This is so typical of the men in my life that I feel compelled to laugh. I also feel a little bit like a fifth grader, who wants to laugh behind my hand because it happened to someone besides me. Picture riding in a car with Jo with lightening and thunder crashing above. Jo hates thunder, she hates all loud noises. They are too much competition, I think. She wails at loud noises and covers her ears. The sound of a public, industrial strength toilet is too loud for her. I understand she suggested that they turn around and go back to get out of the storm. I have to laugh at this. It is so very much just like the girl. And I missed the frustration of dealing with her particularly strong will, when trying to get somewhere under less than ideal conditions. I should probably feel bad for the girls and their grandparents. Instead, I miss the girls and will be glad to see them later today but, I have gotten so much done for Bible School this week that I am just feeling pretty good about life. That and the house is pretty neat, no one has trashed it recently.

Gifts

On Sabbath, Pastor Joe preached on Romans 12 as part of his series from that chapter. As a side note, it is my absolute favorite chapter in the Bible. I memorized it as a teenager, under duress. I didn't hold that against it though and have come to have a great appreciation for the practical chapter.

We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his[b]faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully. (Romans 12: 6-8)

One of the things that stuck out to me was that we cannot use our gifts as excuses for inaction. We are called to love the Lord through our actions in the body, and each part of the body has a vital function. We should encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ to use their gifts, and always be wise stewards of the resources of the church. This is just the financial resources, but the physical resouces as well. If there is a skilled accountant in the church who is good at managing money, he or she would be a good canidate for managing the church finances. At least more so than the person (like me) who hates to balance my personal checkbook and isn't great at it.

I got to thinking about my gifts. It's not that I think I am not gifted, its just that I see many people who have the same gifts I do, and in a greater amount. I work in the church in many capacities, Christian Ed Committee, VBS Co-director, Social Committee, Nursery committee, help with juniors, calendar/newsletter, congregational secretary...so I am using my gifts. (It is a small church, which like a small town needs everyone to contribute) I just wouldn't say that the things I do couldn't be done by others and maybe better. I would say my gift is willingness. I am willing to be used in whatever capacity is needed. I have energy and a flexible schedule. It is as crowded as anyone else's schedule, it just has few time constraints than working people, at least now when the girls aren't in school.

Monday's episode of 7th Heaven, "Charity Begins at Home", begins with Reverend Camden preaching a sermon encouraging his congregation to use their gifts in service to at least one person, on a personal level. I thought it dovetailed nicely with my musings this week. It is an old episode, rerun on ABC Family each weeknight at 5. It never ceases to amaze me how God puts several hits on the same message before me at the same time. The point of the episode was to show that we should use our gifts in service to others and not just in a global or broad sense but on a personal individual level. My mom would have loved it. She is queen of the personal ministry. Can you take a meal to a lonely person or spend an hour visiting? Can you give a ride to a person who is without transportation. Make a phone call to a person who is having a rough week? Do a load of laundry for someone with a new baby or a broken washer? Take the kids for an afternoon or evening to let some busy parents have a break? Write a short note to someone who has meant something to you? It doesn't have to be a big time committment, it just needs to be something.

Go out and love the Lord through what you do today.

By Popular Demand

My sister had one complaint about this blog. I don't post often enough for her. I am guessing she is anxious for updates about the girls. I doubt however, that she will read this post for at least a week because she is headed to Florida for a week to pack up her house and move it to Texas, where she and BIL have been living for a couple months, since the Navy transferred him. My mom is going to help her so perhaps prayers for patience would be in order.

I will have to share pictures of Jo's hair cut. She. Cut. Out. Her. Barrettes. Yeah. The only really workable hairstyle is piggy tails. It's pretty bad.
Can you see the short feathery hair on the left side? She was pretty proud of herself until she realized Mama was not so happy.
"Jo, did you cut your hair?!!!" I asked horrified but the hair on the floor and the barrette in the bathroom, hair still clipped in it.

"Yes," she mumbled downcast. "I'm sorry that I did that" Really. Okay, well at least it gave her a career idea. She thinks she wants to be a painter and a barber now. She is really looking forward to preschool because she will get to paint there. Je painted a lot of pictures and Jo is anxious to do so too. I suppose barbers can make a good living. After my conversation about hair stylists today with my sisters, I think I will tell her to do that in Lawrence. It is more expensive than here.

I Won!

Forgive me for the self involved title but I so rarely win anything that I am a little crazy. I stuck by the Wildcats through I can't even tell you how many losing seasons and then football got good. I still am with the purple teams now that they have been struggling. I was always a Royals fan, I vividly remember the '85 series and the twenty plus seasons of drought since then. Seriously. My college roommate is from St. Louis. She is a Cardinal's fan. We had to agree to disagree. I seem to pick the teams that used to be great, or are great but not as great as the more popular team in the group I am with. So when I clicked over to Parent Blogger Network and it said that the winner of the $100 Spa Finder Gift Card was my entry I was so thrilled I can't even tell you. Yea Me! I now will return you to less bragger blogging.

Real Moms Have Messy Rooms

My room is usually a disaster. I watched my kids fall backwards on the bed in their new cowgirl hats and thought what a great picture! After I took it I noticed all the crap on the bed and the closet with the doors waiting to be replaced. Recently my mom, my biggest critic and one of my closest friends, told me that I didn't have a gift for housekeeping. No Joke. She tempered this criticism by telling me I do have a gift for mothering. I am doing something right! I'd rather be a good mother than have a clean house anyday.

"Enter the Real Mom Truths contest! The winner will receive this amazing 4G iPod Nano and Chocolate gift set, plus a link to their post on True Mom Confessions on Mother's Day. Today is the last day to enter. Go here to get info. You can win thisCheck out the true confessions of moms at this site. It'll make you think.

What Makes Me a Mother

They say biology makes a father but it takes a special heart to be a Daddy. Does motherhood work that way. Probably, but not to the same degree. I am a Mama because my three year old said so. My five year old needs to cuddle when her feelings are hurt, she has an owie or she is overcome with joy. Who does she look to then? Her mama. It amazes me that my patience (or lack thereof) was well documented before the kids were born. Shan was always the patient one, but now it seems I have a new reserve for all those annoying kid things. Jo asking the same question over and over again at the top volume she is capable of. BTW that is a loud level. It doesn't matter how you got the kids you have, adoption, foster, medical help or naturally, if you are responsible for these people you are a mother. It is endless hours of fixing food, answering questions, washing laundry and dirty faces. It is worrying, praying, and exhausting. It is the best job and sometimes the worst job in the world.

This is part of the What Makes a Mother contest sponsored by Parent Blogger Network and LightIris

WFMW Birthday Edition

When I first heard that Rocks in My Dryer was doing a birthday edition of Works for Me Wednesday, I didn't think I had any good birthday ideas, except get my sister to make the cake because she makes really interesting cakes for the kids birthdays. They are really cool looking and are fun. She makes some odd recipes for the cake part and sometimes they don't seem all that kid friendly. What happened to chocolate and white as kid birthday staples? I digress. As I thought more, I realized that I have a very inexpensive way to get gifts for those parties the kids are invited to. We have a great dollar store in town, Deals. It is a chain I think. When we have to find a gift for a birthday, I take the girls in there. The get to pick out several fun things for the special person and I put them in a gift bag. For younger kids, sometimes the number of gifts is the big deal rather than the money spent, and Deals has some nice things for a dollar a piece. I can usually find some really nice toys and trinkets for between $5 and $10. If the party has a theme, I will try to get gifts around the theme or add a small theme related item to the stash. Last time, Je was invited to a party for a boy in her preschool class that we don't know very well. I think the whole class was invited. One of Je's friends is the boy's aunt (dad was married before) and Je wanted to go see her friend at the party. The day before we made a trip to Deals, and bought a car, ball, an action figure, and a plane kit. I added a book I found based on the movie Cars, the party's theme, and the whole thing was pretty economical yet fun. This is especially good when you don't know the child very well and don't know what would be a great gift, and when you want to be thrifty. It works for me.

I'm Busy, Busy, Frightfully Busy, You've No Idea What I have to do!

I've learned that I need to get new dressy summer shoes. My feet almost have forgiven me for the shoes I wore on Sunday but not completely. I had to get a leg and foot massage from Shan last night so I could sleep. I wanted one on Sunday night but couldn't summon the energy to go down three sets of stairs to find him and ask. The cell phones weren't handy either to call to him down three flights. I had a day on Sunday. Saturday, too getting ready for Sunday. It is a brief lull now before the ramp up to Bible School next month. Saturday, I got the food and other things ready for lunch at church and Menninger's graduation ceremony. I also had to send food out to the Manhattan group for their Sunday evening get together. I also took the kids to the zoo on Saturday, because they were having a special thing at the hippo exibit. Jo likes hippos. On the way home from the zoo, I got the last of the stuff for Sunday's taco bar at church. We hosted the Manhattan group so I had to plan for an extra 20-25 people. I snuck out of lunch early to make my way downtown to the church we use to host the Menninger Bible Program graduation. This year we had 20 graduates complete the four year course through the Bible. It is quite an accomplishment. So we I got home at five on Sunday I was exhausted. I left the house at nine that morning to get to church so I could get things ready for the lunch, and still teach Sunday school. There were several extra people in our class, including the pastor and his wife who are working in Manhattan right now. I love them and they are great but with all the visitors in the class it was a little bit of pressure. Class, lunch and graduation were all a success. We had so many leftovers that we will do taco lunch again next month, we stuck everything in the freezer. After typing this all I think I need a nap.

Fashion Issues

I've learned that fashion designers have their heads up their butts. I went shopping in KC with a friend this weekend. We went to get Bible School supplies at this great store over there but she said we couldn't go to KC without going to Nordstrom's shoe department at Oak Park. Okay, twist my arm. We looked around at the clothes there and I was suprised to see all these empire waisted tops with full skirty things. The shirts mostly looked like maternity wear. On the flip side, I saw these pregnant women with tight stretchy shirts that proudly proclaim the baby bulge. It's like the world is turned upside down. When not pregnant clothes are loose and flowy with lots of room for a blossoming bump but pregnant clothes are shrinking so as to look like regular clothes stretched and pulled over said bump. What is up with that. Please don't think I am suggesting to pregnant women that they should wear clothing that hides the baby bump or is huge and flowy. Wear whatever you feel comfortable wearing. However, who wants to wear those empire wasted tops that are similar in cut to what my three year old wears. There is a difference between youthful and childish. Sheesh!

Works for Me Wednesday Cleaning Curtains

I am not a religious cleaner but when I do my bi-annual window cleaning, I do the curtains too. I take them off the rod and run them through the dryer for 10-15 minutes with a Bounce dryer sheet. I have used the housebrand in a pinch but the more expensive kind really works better. I rehang the curtains while they are still warm from the dryer. They are dust and wrinkle free. I have mostly valances and toppers but my mom has rental houses and has used it with drapes and sheers. The tumbling heat gets out the dust and wrinkles and the dryer sheet gets the odors. With some of her houses, renters have violated the no smoking no pets policies, and unless the smell is really bad the Bounce takes care of it. My home doesn't have those odors, but the dryer sheet smells good and freshens up dusty window dressings. It works for me.

Isn't that the truth

Today's Family Circus is scarily true of our society.

The comic shows the mom showing Dolly a Crucifix, and the caption is "I like seeing Jesus in the manger better."

Don't we sometimes like the Christmas Jesus more than the Easter Jesus. We don't want to think about His sacrifice and pain on our behalf.

Three Year Old Logic

"JE put me in there, but she was wrong, I was right" --JO

"Why were you right?" Me

"Because she was wrong"--JO


That makes sense when you are three, I guess.

Testimony Tuesday

Jules at Everyday Mommy linked to this post encouraging all Christian bloggers to share their testimonies on their blogs. It hit me that this was a fabulous opportunity to share what I have been working through over the past year.

For years, I have been reluctant to share my testimony because I didn't feel I had a good one. I have heard all these really dramatic stories of people coming to faith out of some pretty awful circumstances. At church conference a few years ago, I went to a women's lunch and the speaker shared her testimony, the journey from lesbian college proffessor, whose area of study was women's literature, and queer writing, living with her partner in a very settled lifestyle, to Christian, pastor's wife, mother.

In the face of that I got to thinking about my testimony. Instead of intimidating me, as I expected it got me thinking about what my testimony might be. According to Miriam Webster online dictionary, a testimony is "a public profession of religious experience" So, with that in mind, I decided that everyone's testimony is worth listening to, because the are the public profession of what God has done in my life.

I was born in a Christian home, with a rich heritage of faith. I read in our family reunion book about my great great grandfather who settled in Kansas in the mid 19th century. "He was a devoted member of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in early childhood. He was always in his place at church. He was noted for his integrity, honesty, and uprightness...much cash was entrusted to him." This was taken from his obituary. While faithful church membership isn't necessarily a sign of faith, the fruit of his faith is played out in the children, and grandchildren.

I don't remember a time when I didn't know that Jesus died on the cross for my sins and that I must commit myself to Him. I am still working through my ideas here, but I think that Christianity was presented not as something I should chose but as something that is just my life. I use a silly analogy, my parents never said, "If you go to college...", they always said, "When you go to college...". Even as a little girl I knew I would be going to college. I don't think I realized that I had an option, so by the time I did realize it, I didn't need to decide, I was going to college. I don't want anyone to think that my faith is as unthinking as my college attendance. It isn't. At some point, in middle school, it became more that what my parents passed on to me and it is wholy mine. I don't have a lightbulb moment which I can point to and say, "that is when I became a Christian". I remember one traumatic scene with my parents, when I threw myself on my bed, crying and wailing at the unfairness of life. I remember thinking no one loves me, but God niggled me, He loves me. I started to feel convicted about my earlier childish behavior, and wept my remorse, asking for His forgiveness, and "recommitting to Him". For me to recomitte to God, I believed that I had committed to Him previously. That happened before we moved to Topeka, so I had to be around 10 to 12.

I have always felt that my testimony isn't interesting enough to share. It is not a spectacular tale of radically changed heart. I believe now, that every testimony has merit, and that God works in each person. The blessing that I received from a godly heritage is as wonderful as the blessing a reformed crack abuser reaps. By the grace of God, I was spared that hellish existance. Exodus 20:4 says that God punishes to the 3rd and fourth generation of those who hate him, and shows love to a thousand generation who love Him and keep his commandments.

"You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my commandments."

I have never subscribed to the theory that every bad thing can be traced to a specific sin. However, bad things are a result of sin. Sometimes they are consequences. King David sinned with Bathsheba. In youth group we tallied up that of the 10 commandments, we could make a case for most of them being broken. God forgave David, even calling him, "a man after God's own heart"; yet David still faced consequences for his sin. The baby born of the adulterous affair died, and David's family was very dysfunctional. Sin has consequences that forgiveness may not wipe out.

Because of the heritage of faithfulness in my family, I was spared exposure to lifestyles that lead to painful consequences. God can use any testimony for His glory, even my undramatic one. So a testimony is the story of how God has worked and is working in your life. We should all be able to point to real ways in which God has worked and is working. For me, right now this post is an example; I want to share my faith, in a way that I wouldn't have felt comfortable about a couple years ago. I would have felt that I didn't have anything worth contributing, but as He has shown me, just because the work was less tangible, doesn't make it less real or less important. I didn't see Him working in my great grandfather's life, since he died before I was born. I can feel the effects, though in the options open to me and the choices I didn't have to face.

I Laughed Out Loud

My husband always calls them Rifle Droppers. Which I am ashamed to say I laugh at. Go visit Hillary's blog to read this commentary she posted from another blog. It is so funny I woke up people laughing. I visited there in high school and would love to go back sometime, but I am married to a man who thinks Canada is too foreign to visit. He sees no need to visit France or most other European countries for that matter.

Points to Ponder

Now maybe I have taken a long time last several years I have reached some important conclusions.

I always thought the people around me must have been born with some special knowledge that I lacked. Some inner ability to put on make up, flirt, socialize, study, know about the world, skating parties, boys, TV and all the secular areas of life. The only areas I felt confident in were those less valued by the world. Now, I am not suggesting that I valued them less, but this discrepancy made me feel like an outsider.

I blamed it on lots of things. My parents were weird. I was a Christian, I was the oldest child, I wasn't allowed to watch some stuff on TV, my mom didn't wear a lot of makeup, my mom didn't work so I didn't get to be a latchkey kid. Those were the things I blamed my lack of coolness factor on.

As I got older I stopped caring if I had a coolness factor. I had friends, family, a life I liked. It didn't really matter anymore.

Because it stopped mattering, I started to realize that I wasn't alone.

Insecurities kept me from feeling like I could be cool. It is easy for people to ignore you if you don't make the first move to be friends. I'm a sweet person, funny, attractive, interesting, and interested. If people get to know me, they usually like me, so my lack of popularity, wasn't because of some unlikable-ness, but because I was too insecure to let them see me and get to like me. This was a problem in places where I perceived I wasn't cool enough to fit in. Church and family gatherings excluded. Now at big church camp gatherings maybe.

This has been a slow awakening over the last decade. In the last several years, I assume I will get along with people and make friends so I usually do.

This is only relevant because, I think most people are walking around with insecurities that the try to hid from the people around them . I think we interpret those as standoffish-ness, rudeness, or other negatives rather than look beyond the behavior to the motivation. Of course I am an eternal optimist. The glass is always half full. Everything has a bright side and the cloud always has a silver lining.

I am sure there are those people out there who are confident through and through and never experience a moments doubt. I am not sure I want to meet them because the intimidate me.

Maybe we should worry less about how we stack up, look for opportunities to bring new people into our groups, and be thankful for our insecurities because they keep us humble and people worth knowing because of them.

Bargains Bargains Bargains

I've been in a bargain mood of late. I already blogged about my bed/bath redo, and the great deals I got on that project. Now again, my husband doesn't think going $250 over the original estimate is a great deal but he doesn't understand that one thing led to another and now the room looks better. He does like the new denim comforter however, and the shams met with his approval. The are very streamlined.

I returned from a grocery store trip having saved a ton of money and gotten something for free. I printed coupons off the KC Star website for pillsbury crescent rolls and cinamon rolls. The refrigerator kind. They are on sale this week so with my coupon it made them $.30 a can. It was for the small can of 4 but for the girls and I or just Shan that is enough. And on the crescents, that is enough to give us each one at dinner and that is probably as many as we should have for healthy eating. Pizza rolls are also on sale and I had coupons for those that made them free. FREE! I think the total for my groceries was $20 before coupons and $5 after. I got 14 cans of cinamon rolls, three boxes of pizza rolls, and 4-5 cans of crescents. I am well stocked.

Exploding Projects

It all started with a new mirror. Then two new mirrors. Finally a complete redecoration of the bathroom and partial redecoration of the bedroom. I was tired of fighting a foggy, spotty mirror to put on eyeliner. I had Christmas money waiting for a good cause. Aha! I would order a new mirror for our bathroom. Something that should have been done six years ago when we moved in. When the man came to measure it and give me an estimate, I had him give me an estimate for the hall bath. It also was in bad shape, just not as critical as the master bath. With a new mirror expected I decided that before it went up, the old wallpaper in that bathroom should come down. It is at least 10 years old, and it was starting to peel near the shower. I could see the 20 year old layer underneath it. I dreaded that project. The wallpaper in this house was all put up over one very thin layer of paint so it doesn't come off well, even with the good remover, and it takes the top layer of sheet rock with it in places. It was a huge project to get it all off. They had pulled the tank to wallpaper both layers behind the toilet, so we had to pull the tank to get it off. One of the bolts was corroded so it took a long time to get it off. With all the paper finally off, all the holes patched and sanded; I was ready to paint. I had a gallon of taupe that I got on clearance last year for $5 on a mixed tint table at Home Depot. It turned out to be a little greener than taupe. It is more pewter. It is okay since the bathroom is very light, it has a big window. Shan really likes it so I will deal with it. After I painted the walls I didn't like the antique brass and porcelain handles on the vanity. They were too frou frou for the new streamlined look. I know to go to Lowe's would cost about $6 a handle, so I looked on ebay. I found some brushed nickel, which match the rest of the bathroom fixtures, for $1 a handle and a flat rate of $6 shipping for however many I want. I decided to get enough to do both bathrooms so for $1.50 a handle I have a much nicer looking vanity. My mom had a border print from clearance. It actually goes pretty well. It has a tan background and then hearts and stars in an American Flag theme. With the blue towels and floor mats it looks pretty good. I inherited barely used bath mats and toilet lid cover from my mother, who had to get new ones to go with her recent redecorated bath and bedroom. I only had to get one mat to go in front of the toilet to keep feet warm in the winter on the cold tile first thing in the morning. Mom had enough to do the bedroom as well, since the border in there had matched the top layer of paper in the bathroom. So I took off the (again two layers) of border and then we had to paint a small strip at the ceiling, since the new border isn't as wide as the old border. We had painted the bedroom when we moved in and it still works so we left it alone. We didn't have any of that paint left so we used the darker paint from the bathroom. It actually looks pretty good. This led to a new comforter and pillow shams for the bed. Those were 11 years old so it was time they were retired. My mom called from Macy's sale, she'd found a denim comforter clearance for half of half. I then had an additional 20% off so it made the $300 Tommy Hilfiger comforter $65. The next day I was back with my sister, and found red denim pillow shams for $20 each and I had a $10 off $30 purchase so it made them $15 each. When I described this progression to my mother and sister, they thought it sounded logical and rational, even normal. My husband keeps shaking his head wondering how a new mirror project exploded.

Original Mirror estimate on just the master bath: $142
Redecorating Tally:

Mirrors: $233
Paint: $5
Wallpaper: $50
Comforter: $65
Shams: $30
Bath mat: $ 9
Handles: $20

Total Redo: $412

Yes it is a differnce of $270 dollars but bear in mind I hadn't orginally planned on a new mirror for the hall, it was a bargain when the guy said he would only charge us the cost of the mirror since it would be a snap to install and they would be here anyway. The wallpaper was a deal also and since I changed one I need to do both. I had been saving Christmas and Birthday money for a while to use for some worthy project and this seemed like a great idea. I also had been looking at new comforters and quilts in the catalogues longingly, since I bought the one we were using for Shannon, before we were married. It was actually a comforter cover for the down comforter I gave him for Christmas 12 years ago. In the summer we have been using a quilt that we got for our first house about 8 years ago, so it was looking pretty sad. Basically it was time for a redo. Of course, since paint is a pretty cheap redo I will probably do more painting somewhere in my house this year. We will have to see where.

Works for Me Wednesday Pot Rescue

I have often thought of what I could post for WFMW over at Rocks in My Dryer but until this week had no inspiration. I realize I am late to the party this week but if I wait until next week I'll forget my favorite kitchen clean-up secret. When I was in college, I burned something on the bottom of a pot when I was cooking. I can't remember what it was. My roommate's mother was visiting that week and she suggested a solution to cleaning the pot. She told me to put a little water in the pot, just enough to cover the bottom completely. Then she said put baking soda in the water and turn on the stove. When the water had all boiled away, I had a white crusty stuff that scraped easily off the bottom of the pot and took the burned on stuff with it. Then I could clean the pot as usual. I don't know how much baking soda to use, I just dump. I have used this recently to get the macaroni noodles and peas I let boil dry. Sometimes the baking soda doesn't quite get all the edges of the pot, but it loosens it enough that a little swipe with steel wool and the black crud is all gone. It works for me and saves my pots.

I Can't leave well enough alone

If I didn't have enough going on, we are getting new bathroom mirrors since I finally have had enough of the worn off silver backing in many spots. This prompted me to redecorate the master bath. So I started stripping wallpaper on Saturday. And to fit with the pattern of wallpaper in this house it was a huge job. Shan volunteered to help me when he saw how slowly it was going. I nearly fell off the stepstool. He hates those kind of projects. We ran out of wallpaper stripper so we had to finish last night. We still have a little behind the toilet but since Shan thinks we should take the tank off to do that it will have to wait till tonight. Today I will spackle and fill holes getting ready to paint. I will paint tonight or tomorrow and then rehang all the towel bars and medicine cabinet and the bathroom will be back in order. At least until I find a border print I like. Then I will have to do our bedroom too. And on and on and on. I am a glutton for punishment.

A Full Week

Last week was a big week at our house. We had a very busy schedule of appointments and other committments that kept me away from blogging. It started with a broken dishwasher on Monday that stayed broken till yesterday for want of a part and time in the repairman's schedule. Tuesday was a pretty regular day, but Wednesday was chaos in spades. I took Jo to the doctor to find out about this rashy thing I've been fighting for over a year. Turns out it is eczema and the doctor called it "the itch that rashes". Which I guess means she itches first, scratches and then gives herself a problem. After leaving the doctor I went to Walmart to get the prescription,(Yea! $4 prescriptions!) and a few odds and ends. I then had to hustle to drop off the girls and get gas before rushing to my dentist appointment. I go to the dentist in a little town about 30 + minutes from home so I was a little late. Fortunately the dentist was running late so he wasn't waiting on me. He filled my tooth and numbed I rushed home to wait for the appliance repairman. He came figured out he needed a part and ordered it. Then said he probably couldn't make it back until Monday since his Friday was already fairly booked. ARG! Thursday I watched a couple boys from babysitting co-op since their Mom had to go to the doctor. I dropped off my girls at my Mom's house, the boys at their house and rushed to a parent-teacher conference at preschool. I had to wait there because they were running behind.

Friday was Kindergarten Round Up for Je. Jo went to Meals on Wheels with my mom and we met for lunch. I am at once excited and apprehensive about sending my first child off to school. Jo will start preschool next year so that is another scary/fun conflict.

This week doesn't promise to be much better, we have a big weekend at church coming up and I need to get my house ready for company. Also, next week I start watching a friend's new baby full time for four months so she can go back to work. She works for the state tax people and hates to leave at such a busy time.

My Dad Had this On His Wall

This set of statements is so much the way my Dad thought. I remember it hanging on his office wall at home. The plaque was dated in style so I don't think it made the cut after we moved or at least after my mom redecorated in the few years after we moved in. He had several plaques and awards that were swapped for newer designs and newer awards but I bet it is still in the basement.

I am going to add it to my sidebar quotes because it is something I want to remember about the world.


The Paradoxical Commandments
by Dr. Kent M. Keith

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.

People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.

People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.

© Copyright Kent M. Keith 1968, renewed 2001

It's That time Again

We are down to the wire. Only one weekend of wresting left. I can see the end in sight. Daddy leaves today for Wichita to coach six wrestlers who have qualified for the State Tournament. Tommorrow the girls and I go down to have a mini-vacation. I mean cheer on the guys. Seriously, it is a reward for a long season, a couple nights in a hotel with a great breakfast bar, and meals out. And my in-laws are meeting us there so I really won't have to miss the fun, since the kids prefer grandparents to parents whenever possible. At least for the few days that the grandparents are around at a time. Recently, Jo has named me alternately the "worst mommy ever" and the best mama in the whole world, depending on which end of the struggle we are. So I'll be away from the computer for a few days, enjoying my reward for a long wrestling season.

Parenting Problems

I've learned that what goes around comes around. My mother always told me that I would have children who would do to me what I did to her and that I would deserve every bit of it. Now she didn't say it cruelly, she just was warning me. I now hesitate to share with her my lastest series of trials with Jo because, I remember pulling the same kinds of things in my childhood. I told her the other day, and she did start to say some form of an "I told you so" but I was ready and agreed before she could really warm up. It embarrasses me now to admit that I did this. I was even older than my daughter so it is particularly humiliating. I have this photo of me at about two, I sitting on the round oak table eating chocolate peanut clusters and the chocolate is dripping down my face. I was wearing my footie jammies so I am pretty sure I did this before my parents got up. Jo has been doing this kind of thing this week. She gets up, goes and gets the Doritos, and one morning, got back in bed to eat them. Once at nap I caught her with Dorito breath and orange crumbs all over her face. This morning she left them next to her coloring table to be found later. She also "helped" herself to her sister's Valentine's candy from school. Her excuse, "Je forgot to eat it". It was only the next day! Je likes to savor her candy. You could put her Halloween bucket in her room, and she would eat only a few pieces a day. Jo would eat the whole bucket in about two days. Now bear in mind that the girls get enough Halloween candy that we had to throw out the excess at Christmas, we just couldn't eat it fast enough. It was a lot of candy. Jo is going through a sneaky phase. She snagged the purple sharpie I keep in a pen cup on my dresser to color with. She painted her hand K-State purple. THE WHOLE HAND. I still haven't gotten it all off her tights or her leg where it bled through. That is a week ago. Some day, I will look back at her childhood and wax nostalgic over her purple hand and leg. I will laugh at the amusing story of her eating all the candy during nap time, and sneaking dorito's out of the pantry. Of the time she tried to get the fruit snacks off the high shelf by stacking her step stool on top of a kitchen chair. It just won't be today. Well maybe. It is kinda funny.

New Sidbar Element

I am adding a new list to my sidebar. I have long collected quotes from everywhere. I used to use them to practice calligraphy but with kids who has time to practice that. I love to share my quotes so when Everday Mommy had the Chesterton quote up today, I was inspired to put a list of quotes that make me think. So as I find quotes I will add them to my list. Now when I read her title I immediately thought of Yoda. Star Wars anyone? I know I am an unrepentant fan.

I Apologize

I apologize to my husband, my parents, my sisters, friends, roommates, co-workers, neighbors, classmates, the lady at the store in line next to me, random people on a plane,in the elevator, basically anyone who has ever had to spend unstructured time with me. For they must have been forced to endure that which I am currently forced to endure: time with someone in love with the sound of their own voice. I have often thought that my three year old, Jo is like me in many ways. She is friendly, social, and talks to anyone and anything. My head is about to explode, I have no time for quiet reflection if Jo is in the car with me, she had a running commentary from the backseat on whatever catches her eye. If you have ever been on a car ride with me, and I didn't have a book to read, you might understand my pain. I hope I was a little more discriminating in what I chose to share but I am afraid to ask because I am not sure I want the answer. If I talked as a child, even half as much as Jo, I don't know how my voice has lasted this long. It should be a great example for me of what not to do in the future. I saw this commercial recently that encouraged parents to talk to their kids as they went through the everyday ordinary tasks. Seriously folks, I don't think I could get a word in edgewise with that child.

The Co-Op

I mentioned in my cheap date post that one of the ways we cut down on expenses is to use the Babysitting Co-op. A couple of you asked for more info so I will explain the whole thing here. Then I will have an easy page to refer back to.

Three years ago I was in a Bible study with just two other ladies. The facilitator,T, was to become a good friend. Our daughters became friends in the preschoolers group while we were studying together upstairs. That friendship led to a playday. That led to an invitation for our family to join the babysitting co-op that T had started.

There are several families, the number fluctuates, but I think 6-10 is a great number. Each family gets 10 hours of tickets per child when they join. These tickets are good for babysitting for ANY reason. You have a need, you call someone in the co-op, and schedule the time. You drop the children off, then when you are done, pick them up and pay one ticket, per hour, per child to the watcher. You then get more tickets by watching other kids in the group. We have used the co-op for work, for dentist or doctor's appointments, dates, errands, or even a house-cleaning day. Once, I used the co-op so I could paint a bedroom. It has been such a blessing to our family. I don't take advantage of my mom, who lives just down the street and has her own committments and life. I don't feel guilty for calling a friend to watch the girls because I know I am paying for the time. I don't break the bank for these errands, or dates or whatever because I am paying with my own time at a future or previous date. If I have a last minute need, I don't feel bad about calling someone. I also don't get trapped at home, or have to drag the girls with me to the dentist. Shan and I can even do nicer dates because we save the money that a babysitter would cost. T got the idea from a similar group she was a part of in Minnesota, and so we have a set of guidelines for the system that help avoid misunderstandings and abuse. Basically, whenever I need someone to watch the girls, I have five people to call. If one can't do it, usually someone else can, and no one feels obligated to say yes all the time. We have meetings about once a month so we can get any dates we need covered, if we know of them in advance. This gives us all a chance to build relationships between the families, and for our children to get to know each other, and the homes they will spend time in.

Our co-op is mostly families that live relatively close together, and we are all Christians, but whatever group works for you is the best way to do this. Get a few friends with kids and put togther a system. If you would like to look at our guidelines, let me know and I can get you a copy.

Cheap Dates Extrodinaire

One of the cheapest things we do is get a pizza from Papa Johns on Customer Appreciation Saturday. Every third Saturday of the month they offer a large Pizza for $5.99, cheese, sausage, or pepperoni. My husband loves Papa Johns so for him it is a big treat. We get at least one and then have it for supper after putting the kids to bed, and watch a movie from our collection that we don't get to watch with the kids.

Another cheap idea we love it our babysitting co-op. There are six families and we have a ticket system for free babysitting. It's a good for dentist appointments, school committments, or dates, and many other uses. We are all Christian families so we can feel pretty good about the people we are leaving our kids with and with the ticket system, we are "paying" for our time and not taking advantage of friends or family.

When we do that for date night we often go to this Mexican restaurant, and get an order of chicken fajita's to share and a couple of diet cokes. With free chips and salsa that gets a meal out, with a waiter for less than $15. Can't beat that.

We've also played cribbage or Mexican Train dominos for a nice date night after the kids are in bed.

Take a drive and make a stop at Sonic for a fun icecream treat or special drink.

Watch for coupons in the paper for mini golf, batting cages, or go-karts, buy one get one free.

Find a local tennis court that you can spend an hour.

Every year for our anniversary we go out to a nice supper, and then, since Christmas is four days later, we finish our Christmas shopping, at the mall. We have been doing that since our honeymoon, five years before we even had kids.


Any activity done together, is a great date. Even if it is only the church league softball game, or cleaning the garage.

A Mama Picture

Sarah wrote this fabulous post about motherhood. It is a great reminder to me, and further evidence that God has things to say to me on this topic. Not just with my kids, but with my husband as well.

You know the Bible 100%!

 

Wow! You are awesome! You are a true Biblical scholar, not just a hearer but a personal reader! The books, the characters, the events, the verses - you know it all! You are fantastic!

Ultimate Bible Quiz
Create MySpace Quizzes

I am not sure this is a great way to gauge my Bible knowledge, but I did feel a certain professional pride was on the line when I saw that the questions were so very elementary. If I hadn't gotten a 100% I would have been ashamed. Give it a try and see if you agree.